Authors: John Buttrick
“Sam, an Accomplished of the Serpent Guild is cutting through my trees, get ready for some company,” Simon called to his friend below.
“I’m ready,” Samuel shouted and glowed orange with potential.
“As are we,” Ronn said while taking aim.
All of the mountaineers were facing south with arrows drawn and ready. The enemy Aakacarn sliced apart the last tree blocking the way and the first wave of twenty infantrymen ran forward. The mountaineers let fly and four men fell dead, one with an arrow in the neck and three each with an arrow in the center of his chest. Sixteen men continued forward with another twenty coming right behind them. Forty Royal Guardsmen charged out with broadswords swinging. Four more Pentrosans died in the night from arrows sent by the Ducaunan mountaineers, but it was not enough. The Royal Guardsmen were better skilled with their broadswords than were the infantrymen and managed to kill quite a few of the enemy.
Two men made it to the cave, one died with a knife in his throat and the other with a crossbow bolt between the eyes.
Orange beams of light emanated from Samuel’s fingers and thumbs, striking ten men at a time, and each one began running around aimlessly as if totally confused. A panther pounced on one soldier, bit out his throat and then disappeared among the trees. Coyotes howled among the honeylocusts and panthers roared from all directions, causing the horses to panic and rear up, fouling the shots of the mounted bowmen.
An Accomplished ran out of the southeast cave and pointed his baton at the oncoming Pentrosans. Violet potential flowed out, struck the ground, and a stone wall burst up out of the ground, spreading right and left, while growing to a height of about thirty cubits and spreading from the south around east and west, and meeting on the north side of the hill. Harmonic waves flowing from the focus points proved this had been no minor toil. It also stopped the Pentrosans, for the time being. The Pentrosans on the inside of the wall were cut off from their cohorts. Riders fell to arrows from above and Royal Guardsmen battled the rest. Simon recognized the hue and was pleased to know Daniel had cured the impossible, Jerremy DeSuan was no longer Condemned, and that meant neither was Sherree!
Guardsman Hawk ran out of the cave with a mound of clothing in his arms. He spoke to Sergeant Keenan and then what appeared to be pants and coats were passed out to the rest of the detachment, even those who just finished off the remaining Pentrosans on the wrong side of the wall. In short order every Royal Guardsmen was wearing light blue coats and pants over their uniforms.
Gina stood beside Simon, “Why the change in uniform?” she asked.
“Look, the young man is climbing the hill,” Miriam pointed out.
Hawk reached the top and nodded to Simon but addressed the mountaineers. “Sir Daniel is asking for you four to come into the hill and dress the Condemneds after he heals them, it will save him having to do so, and allow him to finish helping the rest.”
“We are the only archers this unit has,”
Ronn pointed out.
“Hawk, tell Sergeant Keenan I need four of his best bowmen up here if he wants archers to cover him,” Simon told the guardsman.
“It will be as you say,” Hawk replied and scampered down the hill faster than he climbed it.
“Let’s go help Daniel with this chore,” Miriam said and started down the hill at a more dignified speed then did the young guardsman.
Samuel was alone on the hilltop with bows and quivers of arrows. Tim handed a hunting knife to Samuel before entering the cave with the other mountaineers, but such did not concern Simon. He could see the Pentrosans on the other side of the wall and had no doubt their Accomplished would soon come up with a way around it. Sure enough, a large hole opened on the inside of the wall and infantrymen crawled out of it. A violet beam of light struck the hole and continued back to the wall, causing the ground to buckle in, and burying anyone still in the tunnel. Orange beams of light struck the eight that had managed to climb out before it collapsed, causing each man to suddenly stiffen and fall over. Simon was glad Jerremy and Sam were ready for the move.
A Two-bolt Accomplished exited the cave. He seemed to be assessing the situation and walked over to Jerremy, who gave a nod of respect, and then spoke to Sergeant Keenan. Simon was beginning to feel left out, but four guardsmen, dressed in blue, walked away from the group and began climbing the hill, no doubt these were the bowmen he had requested.
Corporal Carlin reached the top and picked up each bow and quiver and handed them to the other three men. “Accomplished, we are the replacement archers,” he stated and turned to his men. “Rainbird, Falcon, Ridgecat, when you see a target, loose at will.”
“It will be as you say,” each man replied.
“Did the Accomplished bring any more orders from Daniel?” Simon wanted to know.
Carlin scratched his low brow and Simon hoped the man was smarter than he looked. “No orders, just information. Ten thousand horsemen, along with five thousand infantrymen are moving from their base south of Los Collins, and should be here shortly after dawn.”
Simon was almost sorry he asked. “How much longer will it take for him to finish restoring the Condemneds?”
“He still has another hundred and seventy-six to go, most of those will have to rest after being healed. The ones not so badly disfigured will be up and about shortly. That’s all I know. I reckon the healings will take longer than sun up or he wouldn’t have bothered mentioning the Legion about to descend upon us,” the Corporal replied.
Simon realized the man was intelligent and glad to know it. All that aside, he had some powerful misgivings over holding off such a tremendous force. “Is there a reason for the blue uniforms?”
Carlin smiled for the first time in Simon’s presence. “According to Sir Daniel, the Pentrosans cannot prove we are Royal Guardsmen if all of us are in blue and you Accomplisheds are in your silks. This will look like Aakadon striking at a Serpent Nest.”
Simon admitted the plan had some merit, “That should work, providing we are not overrun, and your true identities are no longer a mystery,” he replied.
“There is that,” the Corporal admitted.
Simon swallowed the doubts, reached into his pocket, and pulled out some specially enhanced poppy seeds. He cast, Sowing The Seeds, showering the hills all around with the seeds. Raising the baton straight up, he focused, Grow: Plants, and flowers grew in the night, giving off their hallucinogenic aroma. He summoned a light breeze and sent it swirling gently out beyond the wall, keeping the fragrance away from the Ducaunans while giving the Pentrosans a constant dose.
A Three-bolt Accomplished exited the cave and walked over to Jerremy, Samuel, and the Two-bolt Accomplished. Fire balls came hurtling in from the north, the opposite side of the next hill over, striking inside the wall, and spreading flames wherever they landed. These hit randomly rather than being aimed, most likely because the Accomplisheds throwing them did not have direct line of sight. The Three-bolt moved twenty paces from the rest of the people, bent down, touched the ground, and began glowing midnight blue. The ground began to shake and Simon could hear deep rumbling. A jet of water burst up out of the ground and aimed at first one fire and then another, and another, extinguishing them. The jet was then aimed at the incoming fireballs, snuffing them out easily. Simon knew he was watching an Aqua Guild Oceanic at work and was truly impressed. The jet of water reduced down to a continuous bubbling until another fire ball appeared and then pressure increased and the jet suddenly shot into the air and extinguished the fire before it hit the ground.
Fireballs began flying every which way, some beyond the walls and into the Pentrosans, and some to the east and west, well beyond the walls. Simon smiled. The poppies were doing their work. The Accomplisheds in the north were out of their minds and he could see men on the other side of the wall walking into trees and bumping into each other.
Within half a mark, six more Accomplisheds came out of the cave, and Simon was beginning to feel a little better about the odds of ho
lding off the Pentrosan legion.
“Those were the easiest to heal, according to Sir Daniel. We will have to make do with what we have for now,” Carlin informed without being asked.
Simon was pleased the man chose to be forthcoming with the information. “We will give him the time he needs.”
Carlin nodded his agreement and peered out into the night.
Panthers roared, coyotes howled, and men screamed along with their horses. The Pentrosan force was in chaos as the wild animals began attacking the soldiers, who were still functioning under the influence of Simon’s poppies, and random fire balls kept dropping among them. He was glad he could not see clearly, knowing the creatures were not being gentle. Men were dying.
Samuel levitated to the top of the wall, no doubt to learn whatever he could. A hole opened up beneath and several strides to the left of him. A man in black silks with one lightning bolt on the hood of his cloak crawled out of the tunnel while aiming his baton at the unsuspecting Eagle Guild Fledgling.
Simon quickly cast Manipulate: Tree, and focused on the honeylocust directly above the enemy Accomplished, and then bent toward his toes and slammed his hands together with a resounding clap, and the tree did likewise, bending all of its thorny branches low and crushing the enemy Aakacarn.
Samuel was so startled he lost concentration and dropped to the ground. Fortunately he landed on his feet. The tree went back to its normal position, leaving a mangled body in silks on the ground. “Watch your back!” Simon called down to him.
Samuel stared at the dead Aakacarn and then up at Simon. “Thanks for the assist,” he shouted.
Evidently Silvia was correct her cousin did need Simon’s help. With this done, all he had to do now was help prevent a war.
Half a mark before sunrise the Accomplisheds of the Stone Guild raised a stone fort that was higher than the hill and the guardsmen filed into it. When the sun came up, Simon could see the bodies on the other side of the wall. Men with their throats ripped out and others torn open in the middle, exposing intestines. One man, insides spilled on the ground, was lying near a dead panther with a sword in its neck. They both died together. Three dead coyotes were also among the lifeless Pentrosans. Flocks of crows burst out of the trees, all heading for the feast below. Soon the dead were covered by the black-feathered birds.
Carlin coughed. “Sir Daniel’s swirl is one to be reckoned with,” he stated and cocked his head to the right as if listening for something, and then smiled. “Hear that buzzing, I’ll bet the Champion’s army is bigger than the legion heading for us.”
Simon did hear a low and persistent buzzing. Did Daniel’s swirl include insects? “You seem confident of your facts.”
Guardsman Rainbird, obviously from the
Mount Geble region, stepped forward. “Swarms of bees came to our assistance once before, it is not unreasonable to expect a little help from them.”
Simon did not want to dampen their enthusiasm by mentioning that smoke will stop the bees. If the commander is quick thinking enough, the bees would only slow him down. Even so, he
lp from any quarter is welcome.
Silvia exited the cave and climbed the hill, showing no signs of exertion. “Daniel has finished restoring the last Condemned, they are all still asleep, and will be so for several more marks. The bad news is the Pentrosan legion will be here within a mark.”
Simon pulled an amulet from his inner pocket and placed it against his forehead. “Sam, that legion will be joining us within the mark, I think we Accomplisheds should meet with Sergeant Keenan, and work out a coordinated defense plan.”
“Agreed,” Samuel sent. “We also need a get away plan for when Daniel decides it is time to go.”
“I’ll be in your fort soon,” Simon informed him and then put away the amulet. “Corporal Carlin, I would appreciate it if you and your men will keep watch here on the hill.”
Carlin spit a wad of tobacco on the ground. “There wasn’t anywhere special I needed to be. Right here is a good enough place to spend the morning.”
“Good man,” Simon replied, and then he and Silvia went down the hill and into the Stone Guild fort.
Daniel opened his eyes. The young man he restored had a dark beard and long hair, just as it would be if he never shaved or cut his hair. It was the same for all of the formally Condemned males.
“Move aside and I’ll put some clothes on him,” Miriam said while approaching with the garments.
His mother had been a huge help, along with his father, Tim, and Gina. It would have taken quite a bit longer if he had to dress each of these people, nearly all of whom were non-Aakacarns. The only fully Condemned Aakacarn had been the tall black one who Daniel recognized as the man he once shielded and suspended back in Aakadon. The Accomplished is a Two-bolt, but he had no lightning bolts now, those had been ripped from his body during the Condemnation.
“Thanks for your help,” he told his mother and then stood up.
“Your chore was the harder,” his mother said, and then went to work dressing the young man.
Time was passing, yet Daniel still had one more major chore to accomplish while his patients rested, and hopefully before the Pentrosan legion arrived. Gina, with her dark wavy hair and pink-dyed buckskins, reminded Daniel of Val, yet he realized the memory of his first love was stronger than his actual feelings for her, which had been altered. He still loved her as a friend, probably always would, but Sherree is the one who held his heart in her hand.